The Days

The Days by Denise Giardina After the bridge flung Jackie Freeman into the creek, replacing it became Hassel Day's mission in life. Hassel was the unofficial mayor of Number Thirteen. Unofficial because American Coal owned the houses and the land and was the real mayor as far as saying what would and wouldn't be done. Unofficial 14 because he'd never been elected to the nonexistent office. But Hassel was mayor because somebody had to see to things and Dillon Freeman, the other most likely candidate, was consumed with his union duties. Hassel became mayor because he wanted to be. Hassel was only twenty-nine when the bridge fell. He was thin, with a flat top haircut and. the only moustache on Blackberry Creek at that time. He lived in a trailer between Number Thirteen and the ninth hole of the golf course. The trailer, olive green and round at the edges, looked like a beached submarine. It had a small front porch and a pair of vinyl-covered armchairs in the yard. Junior Tackett shared the trailer with him, until Junior would get mad and move back in with his mother at Felco. He'd stay home for a few months and then return to Hassel' s. Hassel was kin to the other Days at Number Thirteen. His older brother was Homer Day, who was killed in the mines in 1964. When Hassel spoke to the County Commission about building a bridge at Number Thirteen, he talked about practical matters. He pointed out that there was no road into the coal camp, that without the swinging bridge residents must walk the railroad tracks a mile to Winco to reach their cars. But the main reason he wanted the bridge was for the memory of his dead brother Homer. Homer was electrocuted when he touched a live cable while climbing out of his mantrip. The visitation was held at the Day house. Homer was laid out in a fine metal casket provided by American Coal. The casket was closed because of how he'd been burned, but it was even more imposing for being shut tight, appearing impenetrable, a sure defense against the worms which splinter wood and devour flesh. Homer's wife, Louella, flung herself across it when it first arrived and slid right off. Problems arose when it was time to bear the coffin to the hearse waiting at Winco. The Day house was bounded by the creek at its back, the golf course at one end, and the railroad track right outside the front door. During the wake, gondolas loaded with coal were pushed up the track directly in front of the house. Hassel heard the clanging and knew there would be trouble. The pallbearers , Hassel among them, consulted. The train would likely be there a long time, occasionally moving short distances as the cars were filled at the tipple. The driver of the hearse would be anxious and a congregation was waiting at the Felco Methodist Church. Best to poke the coffin between the gondolas and then climb over themselves. They waited patiently for a jolt. Then, reasoning the train would stay still for a while, people clambered over the hitches between the cars, the men helping the children and the women in their skirts. Then the pallbearers lifted the coffin. Just as they hoisted it over, the cars lurched forward and knocked it from their grasp. One end struck the track and the greasy black gondola wheels ran over it, smashing it flat. The coffin looked like a tube of toothpaste squeezed from the bottom. Louella swooned. Hassel tried to comfort her when she came to. "Now, Louelly, hit was likely his feet that got crushed." She took a shaking fit despite his efforts and had to be carried to the Miners Welfare Hospital emergency room instead of the church. And Hassel vowed he'd have a car bridge built and name it the Homer Day Memorial Bridge. Homer left Louella with the two kids to raise, and since Dreama, the oldest, was too young to quit school, Hassel pitched in to help. Hassel had a little money. He pumped gas at Arthur...